Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

YUBA CITY, Calif. A man apparently distraught over the breakup of his marriage killed his wife and three young sons early yesterday, then killed himself, police said.The couple's two daughters escaped.Two of the boys were 9-year-old twins, and the other was 6. All three boys, and their mother and father were shot in the head with a handgun, police Lt. Bill Ollar said.Officers responding to a domestic disturbance call found two adults fleeing from the front of the house and two young girls running out the back door, Lt. Ollar said.Inside, he said, they found the 26-year-old woman and two of her boys dead. Another boy and the father died shortly afterward, Lt. Ollar said."We believe they were in the process of getting a divorce and that he had recently arrived at the house from Yuma, Arizona, with the three boys," he said. "We believe basically it's a murder-suicide."The victims' identities were not released.

Police link serial rapist to 31 attacksLONG BEACH, Calif. Authorities believe a serial rapist has carried out at least 31 assaults on women over a span of six years in California and Washington, and they urged residents to report anything out of the ordinary, even sounds as seemingly harmless as barking dogs.At least 13 of the attacks have been linked by physical evidence, including DNA and fingerprints, authorities said Friday.They also appealed to the public for help, asking for tips about anything unusual and announcing a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the man known as the "Belmont Shores Rapist.""We know he's somehow identifying his victims ahead, and planning his ingress and egress to their house," said Long Beach police spokeswoman Linda Beardslee. "We believe he goes between yards, in their backyard, alleys, across neighboring properties."The attacks started in Seattle in 1996, and authorities have been able to track the attacker through physical evidence, his methods or his behavior to 31 assaults.Half a dozen rapes believed to be linked to the attacker occurred in the upscale Belmont Shores area of Long Beach from 1997 to 1999. Others have been reported in the same area since January.In most cases, the rapist entered a victim's home through an unlocked window or door, sometimes in the nude and always wearing a mask or face shield, authorities said.

Marine sergeant sentenced to 25 yearsCAMP PENDLETON, Calif. A Marine sergeant was sentenced to 25 years in military prison after pleading guilty to raping and trying to kill a Navy petty officer he met while off-duty in Thailand.Thomas Wolf, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of attempted murder, rape and maiming, and three counts of assault in connection with the May 8 attack on a female sailor on Phuket island. Wolf admitted to biting off part of the sailor's nose and breaking a bone in her face during the assault.Marine prosecutor Maj. Scott Woodard had requested a life sentence without possibility of parole for Wolf.Under a plea agreement, the life sentence handed down by military Judge Lt. Col. Steven Immel was reduced to 25 years. Wolf's attorney, Neal Puckett, said his client will be eligible for parole in about eight years.

City says it's starting diaper recycling programSANTA CLARITA, Calif. The city is starting what it says is the nation's first diaper recycling program."Santa Clarita has a long history in environmental stewardship and leadership, and we are very pleased to add one more innovative component to our city's overall recycling strategy," Mayor Frank Ferry said Friday.With 72 percent of Santa Clarita's population younger than 44, advocates say it, a commuter city 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is the ideal place to test a new technology.